U.S. STD cases at epidemic level

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave the country a not-so-special valentine this year when it reported that sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates in the U.S. have reached epidemic levels and show no sign of slowing.

An analysis from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found there are 110 million STD cases in the U.S., with about 20 million new infections added each year. Some of the most common STDs are human papillomavirus(HPV), chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes and HIV. Some of these diseases can be treated with antibiotics, but they are often difficult to detect because they don’t have obvious symptoms. right away. Other diseases, such as HPV and herpes have no cure.

HPV, which accounts for a major portion of infections, generally goes away on its own (90 percent of cases), but has the potential to lead to cervical cancer, a life-threatening disease.All STD increase a person’s risk for HIV and some can lead to health complications such as ectopic pregnancies and infertility.

Low-protein diet slows Alzheimer’s in mice

A new study suggests that a low-protein diet might slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. The research, published in the journal Aging Cell, found that mice that were fed a low-protein diet, along with amino acids, performed better in a maze designed to test the mouse’s memory than mice that were fed a normal diet. The mice on the low-protein diet also had fewer ‘tau’ proteins on their brains. This is a protein that often builds up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and is thought to hasten their cognitive decline.

So far, the low-protein diets have slowed Alzheimer’s symptoms only in mice and extensive clinical trials would be needed to test the treatment in humans.

But the study’s author, Valter Longo, a professor at the University of Southern California, said that “a doctor could read this study today and, if his or her patient did not have any other viable options, could consider introducing the protein restriction in cycles…understanding that effective interventions in mice may not translate into effective human therapies."

First artificial retina approved in U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved first artificial retina. The device is meant to aid people with a disorder called advanced retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease that slowly damages cells on the retina that give the eye sensitivity to light. Over time, this reduces the eye’s ability to distinguish light from dark, and eventually leads to blindness.

The newly approved artificial retina, dubbed the Argus II system, involves a surgically implanted retina and a pair of eyeglasses with a small video camera and video processor. Images from the video camera are transmitted to the brain through 55 electrodes on the implanted retina, which then translates the images into something the patient can see.

The Argus II system was approved in Europe in 2011 and costs about $100,000. The device’s manufacturer hopes to have the artificial retina covered by Medicare and available in the U.S. later this year.